Cloning and expression analysis of a G-protein subunit- in the rice water weevil lissorhoptrus oryzophilus Kuschel

The open reading frame (ORF) encoding a novel G protein α subunit, Lo Gα_o, was cloned from the parthenogenetic rice water weevil, Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus Kuschel (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). The Lo Gα_o ORF encodes a protein of 354 amino acid residues. The deduced protein sequence shares high homology with Gα_o from other species. The expression patterns of Lo Gα_o in various adult tissues were indicated by real-time quantitative PCR and Western blot. The results showed that Lo Gα_o mRNA was expressed at similar levels in tissues except relative high levels in the antennae of adult, and Lo Gα_o protein of an apparent molecular mass of about 40 kDa was expressed in various tissues of the adult. Immunocytochemical localization showed that Lo Gα_o was mainly expressed in the dendrites of the trichoid sensilla in the antenna of the weevil. The tissue and cellular localization of Lo Gα_o suggests that Lo Gα_o may take a part in signal transduction of olfactory/gustatory.